Henrique and David ring in New Year’s Evil (1980), Emmett Alston’s Los Angeles holiday slasher starring Roz Kelly, Kip Niven and Grant Cramer. Kelly is Diane “Blaze” Sullivan, host of a televised punk and new-wave countdown called Hollywood Hotline. A caller identifying himself as Evil promises to murder someone whenever midnight reaches another American time zone, record each killing on cassette and play the evidence over the telephone before coming for Blaze at the West Coast celebration.
Rather than hiding the murderer from the audience, the film follows him through disguises, psychiatric-hospital manipulation and carefully timed attacks while withholding his connection to Blaze. Kip Niven’s Richard Sullivan is eventually exposed as her resentful husband, transforming the countdown into a warped family grievance. Their son Derek, played by Grant Cramer, adds a final ominous beat. Henrique and David savor the cassette-recorded murders, elevator climax, disco balls, punk spectators and title song that keep the procedural chase moving with eccentric holiday energy.
The episode separates the filmmakers from the company identity often attached to the movie: Alston directed and co-wrote the picture, Leonard Neubauer shares the screenplay credit, Thomas E. Ackerman photographed it, and Cannon distributed it. That context helps the hosts explain why New Year’s Evil feels like both an early-1980s slasher and a scrappy piece of exploitation cinema. Its murders can be brutal, but the bright television set, theatrical masks and music give the suspense a streak of camp.
Henrique and David recommend New Year’s Evil as a fast, social holiday watch—especially for viewers who enjoy time-zone gimmicks, mystery-thriller structure and slashers built around media technology. They praise Roz Kelly’s forceful lead performance and the way Richard’s identity gives the final pursuit more emotional charge than a random masked attack. Their shared verdict is stream it, with the Blu-ray best suited to dedicated collectors. Even the television callers and unruly studio crowd make the countdown feel like a public spectacle being invaded in real time. Their lively verdict preserves the original party invitation while making room for the movie’s broadcast setting, family resentment and unusual place in New Year’s horror.
Links

• Get the book — Welcome to Primetime: The Unofficial Freddy’s Nightmares Companion New Year's Evil — original Pluto TV viewing link New Year's Evil — original special-edition purchase link Do You Even Movie? Email: doyouevenmoviepod@gmail.com Instagram X Facebook